I've used the top 7 SBR rated sportbooks for NFL betting and I figured I'd share some thoughts on that experience. I'm fairly new to sportsbooks and I dont throw around a lot of money so these are these are the things that I wish had known last year when I started (with some opinions thrown in).
In order as the appear on https://www.sportsbookreview.com/best-sportsbooks/ (as of this moment any way).
Bovada
- Odds are accessible without signing in +1
- Easy to get money in and out +1
- Premium user experience +1
- Easy to sign up +1
- Odds aren't the best -1
Heritage Sports
- Odds are not accessible without signing in -1
- Customer service is kind of trash (notes below)
- Related to the above, I did not find it easy to sign up
BetOnline
- Odds are accessible without signing in +1
- Easy to get money in and out +1
- Meh user experience +0
- Easy to sign up +1
- Good odds +1
Bookmaker
- Odds are not accessible without signing in -1
- Easy to get money in but I had a hard time getting money out, though admittedly I'm on the hook for that. Notes below. +0
- Premium user experience +1
- Easy to sign up +1
- Okay odds +0
Intertops
- Odds are accessible without signing in +1
- Easy to get money in but I recall having a hard time getting money out, though again this is probably my fault
- Honestly a pretty good user experience +1
YouWager
- Odds are accessible without signing in +1
- Easy to sign up +1
GTBets
- Odds are accessible without signing in +1
- Easy to get money in but I had a hard time getting money out, though again this is probably my fault
- Not a great user experience -1
- Easy signup +1
- Good odds +1
Macro Meta Thoughts:
If you make me sign in to view your odds, then it's a deal breaker. I understand that sounds harsh but it's just pointless friction in my gambling experience. Pointless friction that is easily bypassed by going with a more transparent book. If you make me fiddle with logins on my phone just to see the odds then I'm probably just not going to use you. And in general, if your confident enough in your odds (and your company) to show them by default then youre the kind of book I want to deal with.
As a small time bettor, taking bonuses is stupid. This is where pretty much all of the "I had a had time getting money back out" friction came from. These tend to be the sites that generate volume with their bonuses so they make it easy for you to opt in on them (with pop ups and the like), and when you do youre locked into a large amount of rollover requirements for what ends up being a very small bonus. These also tend to be the sites with the larger withdrawal minimums so you need to win big or spam +2000 odds bets games until you hit those minimums. It's just not fun.
Also as small time bettor, ease of access in terms of odds, money in, and money out is what makes for a nice experience. Nearly all of the problems I had with a handful of books could have been avoided with careful research and review of terms. I know that's an obvious thing to say, but it's equally obvious that careful research and review doesn't pair well with casual for-fun betting.
Individual Thoughts:
Overall Bovada is solid. I didn't bet very often because I usually found better odds elsewhere, but I guess that's the price you pay for that overall premium experience.
I'm not a fan of Heritage. I wasnt even able to sign up. My sign in process threw an error code, and when I called the number shown with the error code, they told me I called the wrong number, wouldn't redirect me to the right one, and when I did call the number they gave me it took me to a survey that immediately hung up on me. I'm certain that my experience was not typical, and I'm equally certain that a competent company doesnt offer that experience even on a bad day.
BetOnline is also pretty great. I ended up using them a lot. I say that their user experience is meh because it's just not as polished as the other offerings. It's kind of a 90s web aesthetic/interface style and a couple of times, early on, I made bets without confirming them. It's not a problem that I had with other sites and I had to always double check. They have a new site that's better but maybe I'm still haunted by that earlier experience, because it still feels kind of janky. Really that's my only complaint though.
Bookmaker is just about as slick as Bovada with better odds. I stopped using them because they're one of the ones that makes you sign in to see the odds. Knowing what I know now about bonuses and small bets, I'd still probably go back if they made their odds more open.
Intertops is a lot like BetOnline to me. They were one of my go-tos after I figured them out, though there was a learning curve when it comes to getting money out.
I only just started using YouWager but so far it's been good. In terms of user experience they're somewhere between BetOnline and Bookmaker. We'll play a bit with them and see how their odds stack up.
GTBets is even more dated than BetOnline was and they were also the hardest to get money back out of. Even when I hit the rollover req, there's such a large minimum and withdrawl fee that I can't recommend them to anyone.
Closing
Overall if I had to put them in recommendation tiers for casual small stakes betting. This is what it'd look like.
No hesitation, would recommend:
Bovado, BetOnline
Workable with caveats:
Bookmaker, Intertops
Straight up not having a good time bro:
Heritage, GTBets
I'll update you later on YouWager but so far it's looking good.
In order as the appear on https://www.sportsbookreview.com/best-sportsbooks/ (as of this moment any way).
Bovada
- Odds are accessible without signing in +1
- Easy to get money in and out +1
- Premium user experience +1
- Easy to sign up +1
- Odds aren't the best -1
Heritage Sports
- Odds are not accessible without signing in -1
- Customer service is kind of trash (notes below)
- Related to the above, I did not find it easy to sign up
BetOnline
- Odds are accessible without signing in +1
- Easy to get money in and out +1
- Meh user experience +0
- Easy to sign up +1
- Good odds +1
Bookmaker
- Odds are not accessible without signing in -1
- Easy to get money in but I had a hard time getting money out, though admittedly I'm on the hook for that. Notes below. +0
- Premium user experience +1
- Easy to sign up +1
- Okay odds +0
Intertops
- Odds are accessible without signing in +1
- Easy to get money in but I recall having a hard time getting money out, though again this is probably my fault
- Honestly a pretty good user experience +1
YouWager
- Odds are accessible without signing in +1
- Easy to sign up +1
GTBets
- Odds are accessible without signing in +1
- Easy to get money in but I had a hard time getting money out, though again this is probably my fault
- Not a great user experience -1
- Easy signup +1
- Good odds +1
Macro Meta Thoughts:
If you make me sign in to view your odds, then it's a deal breaker. I understand that sounds harsh but it's just pointless friction in my gambling experience. Pointless friction that is easily bypassed by going with a more transparent book. If you make me fiddle with logins on my phone just to see the odds then I'm probably just not going to use you. And in general, if your confident enough in your odds (and your company) to show them by default then youre the kind of book I want to deal with.
As a small time bettor, taking bonuses is stupid. This is where pretty much all of the "I had a had time getting money back out" friction came from. These tend to be the sites that generate volume with their bonuses so they make it easy for you to opt in on them (with pop ups and the like), and when you do youre locked into a large amount of rollover requirements for what ends up being a very small bonus. These also tend to be the sites with the larger withdrawal minimums so you need to win big or spam +2000 odds bets games until you hit those minimums. It's just not fun.
Also as small time bettor, ease of access in terms of odds, money in, and money out is what makes for a nice experience. Nearly all of the problems I had with a handful of books could have been avoided with careful research and review of terms. I know that's an obvious thing to say, but it's equally obvious that careful research and review doesn't pair well with casual for-fun betting.
Individual Thoughts:
Overall Bovada is solid. I didn't bet very often because I usually found better odds elsewhere, but I guess that's the price you pay for that overall premium experience.
I'm not a fan of Heritage. I wasnt even able to sign up. My sign in process threw an error code, and when I called the number shown with the error code, they told me I called the wrong number, wouldn't redirect me to the right one, and when I did call the number they gave me it took me to a survey that immediately hung up on me. I'm certain that my experience was not typical, and I'm equally certain that a competent company doesnt offer that experience even on a bad day.
BetOnline is also pretty great. I ended up using them a lot. I say that their user experience is meh because it's just not as polished as the other offerings. It's kind of a 90s web aesthetic/interface style and a couple of times, early on, I made bets without confirming them. It's not a problem that I had with other sites and I had to always double check. They have a new site that's better but maybe I'm still haunted by that earlier experience, because it still feels kind of janky. Really that's my only complaint though.
Bookmaker is just about as slick as Bovada with better odds. I stopped using them because they're one of the ones that makes you sign in to see the odds. Knowing what I know now about bonuses and small bets, I'd still probably go back if they made their odds more open.
Intertops is a lot like BetOnline to me. They were one of my go-tos after I figured them out, though there was a learning curve when it comes to getting money out.
I only just started using YouWager but so far it's been good. In terms of user experience they're somewhere between BetOnline and Bookmaker. We'll play a bit with them and see how their odds stack up.
GTBets is even more dated than BetOnline was and they were also the hardest to get money back out of. Even when I hit the rollover req, there's such a large minimum and withdrawl fee that I can't recommend them to anyone.
Closing
Overall if I had to put them in recommendation tiers for casual small stakes betting. This is what it'd look like.
No hesitation, would recommend:
Bovado, BetOnline
Workable with caveats:
Bookmaker, Intertops
Straight up not having a good time bro:
Heritage, GTBets
I'll update you later on YouWager but so far it's looking good.
